Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Baird's Sparrow
Scientific name:	Centronyx bairdii
Date:	5/9/19
Time:	9:35 am
Length of time observed:	15 min in total
Number:	1
Age:	N/A
Sex:	N/A
Location:	University of Utah
County:	Salt Lake
Latilong:	40.7612257, -111.8296875
Elevation:	4850'
Distance to bird:	2 feet
Optical equipment:	Atlas Radian 8x42 binos
Weather:	Sunny warm
Light Conditions:	Clear
Description: Size of bird:	Small sparrow
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Stocky passerine with short tail
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Brownish above, pale below
(Description:) Bill Type:	Medium pointed
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Only flushed twice, each time when I came within 2 feet of it. It would fly less than 5 feet away and drop right into thick cover not to be seen again. Showed pale brown upperparts and short square tail without noticeably contrasting white on the corners.
Song or call & method of delivery:	Sparrow spent its entire time walking around in shin high grass and weed field giving this contact call while walking around. Call note matches the contact call note for Baird's Sparrow. Looking at the Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Western North America, the only other sparrow with a call note that looks like that on a spectrogram is Savannah. (eBird checklist with 3 audio clips)
Behavior:	Sparrow spent its entire time walking around in shin high grass and weed field giving this contact call while walking around. Never perched up for a view. Did not respond at all to pishing but did respond to Baird's Sparrow song and call often approaching closely, but again never showing itself. Only flushed twice, each time when I came within 2 feet of it. It would fly less than 5 feet away and drop right into thick cover not to be seen again. It didn't call when flushed, unlike typical Savannah behavior. The bird didn't respond to pishing or Savannah Sparrows calls/songs. It did react to Baird's Sparrow song/call, coming closer and calling more frequently. However, even this wasn't enough to get it to perch up.
Habitat:	Shin high grass interspersed with Whitetop, Canada Thistle and rubber rabbitbrush next to a vernal pond with a large patch of wild rose on one side. See photo in attached checklist.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Looking at the Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Western North America, there are only two sparrows that give a chip note at the same range of frequencies (4-10 kHz) as the bird in the attached recordings are giving- Baird's and Savannah. The behavior of the bird was exactly the same as I have experienced with Baird's in the past and is described as in all field guides and something I haven't experienced with Savannah Sparrows. The bird would walk through the tall grass giving its chip note repeatedly. Of the whole time I tried to get close enough to see it, it only flushed twice and only when I was within 2 feet of it. The bird would fly less than 5 feet away and drop back down into the tall grass and not perch up like a Savannah Sparrow usually does. The flight was straight and direct. Savannah Sparrows tend to easily flush and when they do, their flight tends to show undulations and will usually find some nearby vegetation or tree to perch in. Savannahs usually call when they flush too.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	I have seen and heard a good number of Baird's Sparrows north of Laramie, Wyoming on their breeding grounds. I have extensive experience with Savannah Sparrows all across the US. I have gotten to intimately study them with leading field trips and scouting for them at Swaner Preserve where they are the most abundant species.
References consulted:	Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Western NA, Sibley 2nd edition, Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion, Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America
Description from:	Notes taken at the time of the sighting From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Kenny Frisch
Observer's address:	4609 S Wallace Ln Holladay, UT 84117
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	N/A
Date prepared:	6/12/19
Additional material:	Attached ebird checklist with audio and photo of the habitat.
Additional comments:	Audio of the chip notes and a photo of the habitat can be found on my ebird checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56043194. The Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds has a companion website: https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/peterson-field-guide-to-bird-sounds/ You can view spectrograms and heard recordings of all call notes of all species in North America. You can look up the Baird's Sparrow to compare the call and also look at other sparrows if you want as well to compare.